A business misstep at a restaurant that was not yet officially open spun out of control Monday, resulting in apologies as well as a case study of the power of instant news, social media and public reaction.

Salon owner Jean Claude Simille, who owns three Jean Paul Spa & Salon locations in the Capital Region, called the Times Union to report that he'd been kicked out of the new Tala American Bistro in Latham in the middle of dinner on Friday and was told he is banned from the restaurant because of bad blood between him and the owners of Rumors Salon & Spa and Rumors IV Men. Tala leases space on the north side of the new-last-year, 12,000-square-foot Rumors building at 626 New Loudon Road but is not affiliated with the salon.

Restaurateur Angelo Mazzone, who co-owns Tala with partners, confirmed that Simille was asked to leave and never return on behalf of Rumors co-owner Marri Aviza. Mazzone's Tala partner, Leah Tyrrell, believed the presence of Simille — a salon competitor who last fall took over Rumors' former space in Newton Plaza and who paid for a Jean Paul billboard across from the new Rumors — would upset Aviza and her co-owner, Lisa Norgrove. Neither Aviza nor Norgrove was present at Tala or the salon Friday night. The only Rumors representative to speak to Simille was its attorney, who was there at the time, Aviza said.

After an account of the ejection and ban was published on the Table Hopping blog and timesunion.com, readers commented at a rate of about once per minute for the first five hours, with many saying they would stop patronizing Rumors and never try Tala.

Aviza blamed Simille for the equivalent of crashing a private party and refusing to leave. Officially, last week was a soft opening at Tala, ostensibly only for Rumors customers, staff, friends and family, but a large sign on the building all week read "NOW OPEN," invitations were not required and other diners at Tala Friday night report making reservations despite no connection to Rumors.

Simille, who said he was unaware of the soft-opening status, sat at the bar with a companion and ordered drinks and food. After he had eaten an appetizer, Leah Tyrrell refused to serve his entree and asked him to leave, he said. Mazzone said the decision was out of misplaced concern for upsetting Rumors owners.

"We can't afford to alienate them," Mazzone said before the story was published. He estimated that more than 25 percent of Tala's business will come from the salon's 100-plus employees, more from clients and referrals. By late afternoon, Mazzone had reconsidered and apologized.

"We exercised poor judgment when I asked a guest to leave our new restaurant due to acrimony between the patron and a neighboring business," he said in a comment published on Table Hopping. "In the heat of the moment, during the hustle and bustle of opening a new restaurant, we made a decision that was wrong — plain and simple."

Mazzone continued, "We specialize in hospitality and I pride myself on the service we provide and the respect we show our customers. In this instance, I did not live up to my expectations and the standards to which I hold others. I take full responsibility for my decision and would like to extend my sincere personal apologies to Jean Claude Simille, our loyal guests and all those offended by my actions."

The owners of Rumors issued an apology Monday evening, saying, "Although we can't undo what happened we offer our sincere apologies to Mr. Simille, the community and our loyal customers who were disappointed in us and the events that took place. We wish Jean Claude and his staff nothing but the best and hope that he will soon be our guest for a toast to a bright future of the restaurant and our respective salons."